Kym Ruining a Lovely Weekend

“Hotshots” looks at a movie!

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED is a disturbing movie for a number of reasons, any one of which can ruin it for the audience.

First, the title doesn’t reflect the story. Yes, there is a character named Rachel, and she does get married at the climax of the weekend over which the story takes place, but she is not the main character and the story is not so much about her getting married as it is about her sister, Kym.

Second, Kym is played by Anne Hathaway, a stunningly beautiful actress, but here she has a short, unattractive hairdo, and she plays a drug addict who is allowed to leave her drug-rehab facility for the weekend in order to attend her sister’s wedding, but because she is a narcissistic addict, she is compelled to turn every conversation to be about her and to take over every gathering of people she intrudes upon.

Third, Rachel’s and Kym’s father is played by Bill Irwin, who had a previous career as an annoying mime, and everybody hates mimes. So, whenever he is on-screen, my eyes were immediately drawn to him, and I caught him always mugging for the camera, even when he had no lines and the scene isn’t about him.

Fourth, Kym did something in the past that tragically affected her family, and before we learn what it was, we get a teasing reference to it when she stops in a convenience store on the way home and the clerk says to her, “Hey, didn’t I see you on ‘Cops’?”

Fifth, every scene gives the impression that it could have been cut shorter and ended up better, particularly the one that consists of a competition on how best to load a dishwasher, which doesn’t seem to have any point at all until the very end of the scene.

Sixth, the musicians for the wedding ceremony are there for the entire weekend rehearsing their music, which the audience has to hear, too, and it just gets to be annoying.

Seventh, Debra Winger plays the mother of Kym and Rachel, she hasn’t made a movie for a number of years, and you might get a shock at how old she looks now.

And finally, the movie gives weddings a bad name.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED would be more accurate as KYM RUINING A LOVELY WEEKEND.

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”